Baton Rouge Community College
Academic Affairs Master Syllabus
Date Approved or Revised: 2/17/2012
Course Name: Introduction to Notary Public
Course Number:
PALG 220
Lecture Hours:
3
Lab Hours:
0
Credit Hours: 3
Course Description: Provides and introduction to Louisiana notary public fundamentals,
including matrimonial regimes, adoptions, emancipations, tutorships, curatorships, interdictions,
successions, wills, donations, real estate, mortgages, security interests and formation of
businesses.
Prerequisites:
Co-requisites:
PALG 120 and PALG 121 (Grades of “C” or better)
None
Suggested Enrollment Cap: 35
Learning Outcomes: Upon successful completion of this course, the students will be able
to:
1. Define legal terms and principles germane to the notary public practice.
2. Explain the role of non-attorney notaries in a variety of legal areas.
3. Apply relevant legal principles to standard notary public requests.
4. Demonstrate ability to locate provisions of the Louisiana Civil Code applicable to the practice
of Louisiana notaries.
Assessment Measures: Assessment of all learning outcomes will be measured using the
following methods:
1. Instructor designed exams will assess learning outcomes.
2. Instructor designed quizzes and assignments will assess a portion of the learning outcomes.
Information to be included on the Instructor’s Course Syllabi:

Disability Statement: Baton Rouge Community College seeks to meet the needs of its
students in many ways. See the Office of Disability Services to receive suggestions for
disability statements that should be included in each syllabus.

Grading: The College grading policy should be included in the course syllabus. Any
special practices should also go here. This should include the instructor’s and/or the
department’s policy for make-up work. For example in a speech course, “Speeches not
given on due date will receive no grade higher than a sixty” or “Make-up work will not
be accepted after the last day of class.”

Attendance Policy: Include the overall attendance policy of the college. Instructors may
want to add additional information in individual syllabi to meet the needs of their
courses.

General Policies: Instructors’ policy on the use of things such as beepers and cell phones
and/or hand held programmable calculators should be covered in this section.

Cheating and Plagiarism: This must be included in all syllabi and should include the
penalties for incidents in a given class. Students should have a clear idea of what
constitutes cheating in a given course.

Safety Concerns: In some programs this may be a major issue. For example, “No
student will be allowed in the safety lab without safety glasses.” General statements such
as, “Items that may be harmful to one’s self or others should not be brought to class.”

Library/ Learning Resources: Since the development of the total person is part of our
mission, assignments in the library and/or the Learning Resources Center should be
included to assist students in enhancing skills and in using resources. Students should be
encouraged to use the library for reading enjoyment as part of lifelong learning.
Expanded Course Outline:
1. Introduction to Notary Public
a. Role of Notary Public in Louisiana
i. Civil versus common law
b. Sources of Law and Legal Authority
c. General duties and powers of notary public
i. Requirements
ii. General powers
iii. De jure notary
iv. De facto notary
d. Kinds of Acts: Registry and Recordation
i. Private act
ii. Acknowledgements
iii. Authentic act
iv. Affidavits
e. Civil Code
i. Matrimonial regimes
ii. Transmutation of property
iii. Community property
iv. Separate property